welcome to al jazeera america. i'm steph steph. here are the stories we're following for you. outside his home in south africa. a spontaneous tribute to nelson mandela, how he changed that country and beyond. a step in the right direction for the u.s. economy, a new report reveals the job picture is rienthing and unmroement is falling. a severe wind and ice storm is moving east. hundreds of thousands are without power, and travel problems are building. ♪ in south africa and around

the world people are k looking at the legacy of nelson mandela. meanwhile funeral plans are ama and the first lady will be there to pay their respects. here are some of the details of what is to come. on tuesday decemb10th an official public memorial will be held in johannesberg. his body will lay in state for three days. the memorial's culminate with a state funeral. finally, mandela will be buried on sunday december 15th. >> reporter: tributes are being paid and prayers made for the icon. and now the world can officially say good-bye to nelsonela on december 10th which will be the official memorial service. and then for the following three days his remains will lay in state. but before then south africans

will have a chance to remember the man who change lives forever. >> we have declared the 8th of december as a national day of prayer and reflection. we call upon all of our people together in falls, churches, mosques, temples, synagogues, and in their homes to pray and hold the prayer services and meditation reflecting on the life of madevda and his contribution to our country and the world. >> for those who new him personally he was a inspiration. >> i carry with me at this time

fond memories of systematic education, patient, calculated, measured, to ensure that we begin to appreciate that struggle is not just about emotional drive, but that we need it to learn the tactics that would make us [ inaudible ] to fight us, and enable us to survive through thick and thin. >> reporter: on the streets where he lived during apartheid people gathered too. this was a hot bed of -- [ technical difficulties ] >> he is a hero to all around

the world. everyone is very sad right now because he is gone. >> reporter: many people here say they will celebrate his life. millions of south africans won't be able to attend the state funeral, but they plan to say farewell in their own way. they say they are going to line the streets all across south africa and say farewell to the father of the nation and thank you for making south africa what it is today. nelson mandela inspired millions of people to reconcile and forgive. they begin to prepare to say good-bye. the death of nelson mandela is also hitting home. communities across the u.s. are paying tribute to the south african leader. it was more than 20 years ago that mandela visited chicago. al jazeera's diane .

and he was greeted by the reverend jesse jackson. >> yes, he was. and people are still talking about that visit. i'm outside of the rainbow push coalition, which is the reverend jackson's social justice organization. he has said over and over again what a profound influence he had son him. and jackson was in south africa when mandela was released from prison. jackson talked about just what kind of an influence mandela had on him. >> i was in cape town, south africa the sunday he was released and my son and me met him at the door, and he immediately recognized me. he knew what was going on. he was current, alive and alert.

he didn't just read the speech that day. he wrote it. he also was a great debater, his mining was at sharp at 70 as it was at 40 it seemed. >> and jackson is on his way back to chicago. he is expected back here later today hoping to have a candlelight vigil sometime this evening. stephanie? >> diane in chicago what is the sense of what mandela's legacy is in >> well the legacy is that the fight for justice continues. earlier today i talked to a doctor who was a former state senator here in illinois and also the chair of the anti-apartheid movement back in the '80s. and she said mandela might actually be embarrassed at all of the adulation, she said he

was really about that anti-apartheid movement and didn't really want to be an icon. >> there is so much injustice in the world. the poverty, when i think of this country, i mean it's appalling with black children one in five lives in abject poverty. and that requires that you mobilize people to address such matters. >> palmer now works with high school students and she said she'll be talking a lot about mandela's legacy in the weeks to come. >> diane thank you. ♪ >> some encouraging news for jobs and the economy today. patricia has the details. straight month the u.s. jobs

market showed signs of improvement. the economy added 203,000 jobs in november, lowering the unemployment rate to 7%. there was a healthy bump in higher paying manufacturing and construction. tom perez says the numbers indicate the economic recovery is gaining strength. >> we have had 45 consecutive months of private sector job growth to the tune of 8 million plus jobs. >> reporter: while the numbers are encouraging, analysts say we still have a long way to go. >> to get to full employment we estimate that the economy is going to have to create between 200 and 225,000 jobs per month for the next couple of years. >> but that may be difficult to achieve. the recovery is still on shaking ground with small businesses seeing a slow down in sales for the year. that is significant, because those businesses create about

two thirds of new jobs. particularly hard hit has been the retail sector. despite slashing prices and opening their doors thanksgiving day, retailers posted disappointing sales in november. >> you get the vicious circle if people aren't going into the stores this someone, then the retailers adopting need as many people. >> reporter: another red flag the third quarter buildup in inventory which was the largest in three years. as long as there are goods waiting to be sold there is little incentive to ramp up production and create more jobs. >> the jobs report is music to wall street's ears. dow rating up more than 192 points. it's a big turn around for the blue chips. but even with employment growth, we're still falling short of getting all americans

back to work, and many are still connecting unemployment benefits. let each let's go to mike viqueira at the house with. >> the job numbers is music to the ears of wall street and music to the ears of many of the people in the building behind me. jay carney credited obamacare to help create jobs. if you look at what is happening here in washington and all of the headwinds and problems, the shutdown of the government it is really remarkable to see these numbers considering everything that was stacked against it. ut you are right, even as the economy improves, 3.6% growth in the gdp, and the white house is making the case things are good,

they are not good enough, we need to extent those unemployment benefits that are set to run out now for more than a million beneficiaries. jay carney spoke to that. >> the news we have today reinforces that we need to address this problem and to extent those unemployment insurance benefits to those individuals, because this is a persistent problem. it would be terrible to tell more than a million families across the country just a few days after christmas, that they are out of benefits. so we hope congress be address this challenge. >> again gridlock, there are many who are saying enough is enough. the economy is improving, we're not going to extent the benefits again >> we will find out soon, okay.

mike viqueira live for us at the white house. thanks, mike. a judge has given the okay to a $160 million settlement brought against banc of america's merrill lynch. 1200 black employees say the investment firm favored white brokers by giving them more profitable assignmentments. the bank denies the charges. bloomberg says it is the third largest race lawsuit in country. bitter cold, heavy snowfall and wind advisories have been issued in a b in of states. for more now let's speak to mark snyder at the dallas-fort worth airport. mark good afternoon. i understand you have a new development to report with regard to the dallas marathon.

>> yeah, not a huge surprise, but certainly a huge disappointment. it has been canceled. they decided it was in the best interest of the public, the runners, the volunteers, not to have this in these icy conditions. 25,000 people were going to be at this thing, not happening now. and the dallas christmas parade canceled after 26 years. that has never happened before. and we have folks not just trying to get on their flight, but trying to rebook on another fight. blast fort worth reports 330 flights have been canceled here. american alone has canceled a thousand flights across the country, based mostly on the fact that people can't get in in and out of dfw. the frozen rain has stopped, but the damage is done, because

we're well below freezing, and the roads are very icy. so a rough day here in north texas, but the news we just got, the dallas marathon is canceled. >> of course that christmas pair raid as well. mark snyder thank you. let's go ja leila for more. >> thanks stephanie. this is creating treacherous conditions all across i-40. it is safe to say you should be home today if you don't have to be out on the roadways. texas, arkansas, and tennessee departments of transportation are working overtime because of this system that continues to push towards the east. we'll have to continue to deal

with temperatures well below the freezing mark. so off the roads here tonight we could see an additional three-fourths of an inch of ice here across portions of eastern texas into arkansas. we're also looking at rain and snow. i'll tell you about that later in the show. >> coming up on al jazeera america, what people in the philippines are doing to rebuild one of the hardest hit areas.

welcome back to al jazeera america, i'm stephanie sy, here are today's headlines. south africa will hold more than a week of memorials in honor of nelson mandela. a public service will be held tuesday at a johannesberg stadium. mandela will be buried on sunday december 15th, following a state

funeral. president obama is among the world leaders expected to attend. the u.s. economy added more than 200,000 jobs in november. the unemployment rate is now 7%. it's lowest point in five years. the southwestern united states is being battered by heavy, wintery weather. decides freezing rain a thunder and lightning storm could sweep across texas, arkansas, and oklahoma. france is putting more boots on the ground to help stop the violence in africa. african heads of state are meet in france to talk about the situation. but as jackry roland reports the day began with thoughts on the passing of nelson mandela. >> the president opened the

meeting with a moment of silence in honor of mandela. and then went on to outline the meeting, in particular the situation the central african republic. he also said other key issues were trafficking and also terrorism, a problem which he said affected many countries on the continent. the summit continue on saturday. with six word powers to work out the details of a deal aimed at it will allow the easing of some sanctions against tehran.

israel has vehemently voiced its opposition to the deal saying iran cannot be trusted. the recovery effort in the philippines is still painfully slow. a fully rebuilt country is months if not years away, but there is a major effort to get economies moving again. >> reporter: there is very, very little left on the shoreline of tacloban. this man knows that too well. he is a fisherman, or rather he was given that his boat sits a couple of kilometers inland. how much were you earning and how much now? >> translator: before i was earning about 300 pesos a day from the catch. but now i don't earn anything because what i catch is what we eat because i don't have a boat. >> reporter: and the truth is

his story is replicated thousands of times across tacloban, so the challenge after the emergency aid phase has been let the lobing economy take over again. the streets here are an absolute mess which means you have ready made jobs. which is why they have upwards of 20,000 people lining up every morning to get a job. >> even if they are cleaning their house, we pay them. our point is that if every one of them are cleaning up, tacloban, we can revive it, and then with the money they have on hand, they are able to buy things. if you go to the market now, you can see there are a lot of things for sale. immediately the economy has been

revived. >> reporter: in fact pretty much everywhere you go here you uncover little success stories. sometimes it's just someone who owns a restaurant. these are the people who won't let their city die. >> so i had to deal with -- i have to look for the suppliers, regular suppliers of our drinks, of our meat, vegetables, that kind of stuff. i thought to myself, maybe we can just start with just offering one or two of our regular menu. >> reporter: and it's those small things which make a difference in a disaster zone, plus can-do attitude. under mounting criticism and an court order a catholic church is forced to reveal a list of priests accused of molesting minors. they have made public a list of

34 clerics accused to sex abuse. allegations date back to the 1950s, though details of the suspect's aledged acts have been revealed. some of the priests have died and others have been permanently removed from the ministry. next on al jazeera america where people are tracing the footsteps of nelson mandela.

♪ well it's a bitterly cold day across the north central plains. bismarck feels like 22. fargo feels like negative 21, back in minneapolis, also in the negatives chilly all the way down into st. louis and omaha.

and temperatures are 20 to 30 degrees lower than they should be at this time in the pacific southeast we have another storm brewing that will also contribute to ice calling across portions of texas into arkansas and certainly be into tennessee. the system we're all really concerned about is this cold front that continues to sweep across the central part of the country. really spotty right now, but later on it is going to pick up quite a bit. earlier on in the day we had that snow and ice calling across dallas-fort worth and across into memphis, tennessee, but for now the skies are clearing out for the most part against

dallas. that doesn't mean you should be the fact that the temperatures are well below freezing. we'll continue to see precipitation fall across arkansas, central indiana, and portions of missouri. so if you are traveling use precaution on the roadways. across the northeast we're just looking at rain falling. later on in the day it's this rain that is going to switch over to snow across pennsylvania, across up state new york, and between tonight and into tomorrow we could see 3 to 6 inches, and then the system i told you about across the pacific northwest is going to make its away cross the u.s.

>> the next issue of the new yorker will pay tribute to nelson mandela. this image is an oil painting. the artist chose to depict a young mandela during the time he was on trial. and people around the world are flocking to south africa to trace the steps of nelson mandela. visitors can talk through his old home. he lived there for 15 years before he was sent to prison in 1961. he returned there after being freed in 1990, but stayed just 11 days. in 1997 he donated the house to the trust. thank you for watching al jazeera america. before we go we want to leave you with some of the powerful words from the late nelson mandela ♪

>> have fought against white dominati domination. and i have fought against black domination. i have carried the idea of a democratic and free society in which all facets live together in harmony. and with equal opportunity. it is an ideal, which i hope to live for and to achieve, but if need be, it is an ideal for which i am prepared to die.